The court sided with the British government, which argued that on “fundamental matters” — like the fate of the union — the power is held by the British Parliament sitting in the Palace of Westminster in London.
The British government — under prime minsters Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and now Rishi Sunak — has signaled that it opposes a second referendum.
The British government did allow a referendum in 2014, which saw a majority of Scots vote to remain in the United Kingdom, by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent.
The independence question was complicated two years later in the June 2016 vote over Brexit — in which the Scots strongly backed remaining in the European Union, by 62 percent to 38 percent.
For his part, Johnson argued that the 2014 referendum was “a once in a generation” vote and that the issue was settled.
First minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has been pushing for a referendum in October 2023. Sturgeon leads the Scottish National Party, the nation’s largest vote-getter, which seeks independence, and she says there is an “undisputed mandate” to have another vote.
Her government has laid out in a series of reports all the reasons Scotland should now be — more than ever — separate from the United Kingdom. Among the reasons? So Scotland could rejoin the European Union.
After the ruling, Sturgeon issued a statement, saying she respected the Supreme Court, but added it “doesn’t make law, only interprets it.”
In a tweet, Sturgeon said, “a law that doesn’t allow Scotland to choose our own future without Westminster consent exposes as myth any notion of the UK as a voluntary partnership & makes case for Indy,” the short hand for a second referendum.
“Scottish democracy will not be denied,” she said. “Today’s ruling blocks one route to Scotland’s voice being heard on independence – but in a democracy our voice cannot and will not be silenced.”
William Booth
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